Cheshire, CT Real Estate: Regal Custom Homes At Castle Heights

SPECIAL ADVERTISING FEATURE

September 28, 2012|By LARRY GREENE

Castle Heights is more than a majestic name. It is an apt description of an award-winning, over-55 community in Cheshire. While the homes certainly have a regal quality, the name is a nod to the hilly terrain with a view towards Castle Crag sitting upon East Peak of the Hanging Hills range.

Castle Crag resembles the rook in a chess game. Perched 900 feet above the Quinnipiac River Valley, the 32-foot structure presents an unequaled panorama of Connecticut. Long Island Sound is visible to the south, the Berkshires are seen in the west, the northward view is of the Hartford skyline and beyond to Mount Tom in Massachusetts. This expansive view is reflected in the approach to the Castle Heights development. It has room to breathe and privacy to call your own. "Unlike a lot of other communities, there is a lot of space between the homes," says George Santos, who handles home sales for By Carrier, the builders of the community. George has been in the construction industry practically his entire life. When customers sit down with George to start planning the design of their custom-built home, he guides them through the myriad possibilities and keeps them on track with a cohesive design. "I know when something works structurally or architecturally," he says. Every home is custom designed to suit customers' needs and wants. "We start from scratch. We show them guidelines, concepts. We give people ideas," Santos says. "I take all the ideas from the customers and give them to the designers." In a couple of weeks, the designers create an initial plan which is taken back to the customers for tweaking. "This is not cookie cutter," he says. "That is why we have been successful."

Joe and Fran are a couple that moved in more than three years ago. "I wanted a three-car garage and they did that," says Joe. "We have the only house on the street with that. Every home is different. We put some arches between rooms. I have an office in place of a dining room. I've got one wall in the living room that's all stone; it's two-stories high with windows."

While Joe is impressed by the quality of the work and the numerous options, he says there is another aspect that sets By Carrier homes apart. "You know what it is, it's the detailing," he reveals. "It's the crown molding and bead board. They've got two or three guys just doing that." Energy efficiency is ranked high on By Carrier's standard features list. "The average cost of heating a home is $1,200 per year," says Santos about the Energy Star homes in Castle Heights. Joe verifies that. He notes that he pays less now for heating his 2,500-square-foot home than he previously did for a 1,300-square-foot home. And electricity bills are about the same.

Standard features in Castle Heights homes are typically upgrades in other developments. European-style showers in the master bath use granite and tile. Nine-foot ceilings on the first floor can be offset by a vaulted ceiling rising above a natural gas fireplace in the living room. Dining rooms can be exquisitely finished with a tray ceiling or crown molding and wainscoting with chair rail. Stainless steel appliances outfit the kitchen where granite countertops compliment custom cabinetry.

Ray and Linda Gagnon moved into their home almost two years ago. Their home was formerly the community's model home. "We came to an open house," Ray remembers. "My wife fell in love with this. It's a ranch with a finished recreation room." Having the master bedroom on the same level with the main living space was especially attractive for the couple.

The homes have an industry-leading, five-year warranty on structural defects, roof or basement leaks, electrical, plumbing and interior climate control systems. When the Gagnons had a problem, Ray contacted By Carrier. "They fixed it immediately," he says. "The Carriers do a great job."

By Carrier is owned and operated by six Carrier brothers who came down to Connecticut from Canada in the 1960s. After honing their skills in the building trade, they started By Carrier and became well-known for their quality construction. The Castle Heights project is overseen by brother Jake and his wife Francine; she handles the material ordering. Their son John is the project's architect. Another son, Kevin, is project manager. Two other sons, Danny and Patrick, do the site work. Jessica, the daughter, does the landscape design which is an integral part of the community.

The Carriers are actively involved in their communities. At Castle Heights, they help people in the neighborhood get to know each other. Recently, they hosted a well-attended barbecue. Judging from the friendliness of the neighbors, not much enticement is needed to get things going.